Slush pump



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- AT'TORNEY Oct. 12, 1943. l.. w. STAHL sLUsH PUMP y Original Filed Dec.18, 1937 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 286 1 INVENToRs. 97 t33 5+ j ATTORNEY Oct. 12,1943.

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Patented Oct. 12, 1943 SLUSH PUMP ,Leslie W. kStahl'an-d Ralph L.Foster, Houston, Tex., assignors to Emsco Derrick & Equipment Company,Los Angelo California s, Calif., a corporation of Original applicationDecemberlS, 1937, Serial o. 180,554. Divided and this applicationOctober 30, 1940, Serial No. 363,581

8 Claims. '(Cl. 163-218) Our invention relates a pump adapted to pumpuid and relates in particular to slush Dumps such as are lcommonlyemployed in the oil well drilling `art for pumping rotary mud orI slushinto tion.

This application is a division of our cepending application for Slushpump, Serial No. 180,554, led December 18, 1937. f

the well during the drilling opera- Although our` inventionis useful inmany in-r dustries wherein fluid is pumped under pressure,

it has a particular utility inthe oil well drilling industry `andtherefore that form .of our invent tion designed for use as a slush pumpin the oil well drilling industry will be described herein. In orderthat the features and advantages of our invention may be readilyunderstood the oil well drilling industry will now be referred to. It iscommon practice to drill oil wells by use of a bit of drill connected tothe lower end of a drill pipe' which is extended into the well, .thisdrill pipe being rotated by a rotary machine placed on the derrickfloor. Connected to the upper end of the string of drill pipe is aswivel by means of which the string of drill pipe is supported by thetravelling block and by means of which rotary mud may be pumped into theupper end of the drill pipe. IThe swivel ordinarily employed in this artincludes a goose neck to which a flexible hose is connected,.theflexible hose` being connected to a stand pipe which in turn isconnected to the slush pump or mud pump which is usually positioned atone side of Lthe derrick oor. f

As the well drilling industry hasA advanced and wells drilled deeper theslush pump is called upon to deliver the rotary mud or slush atrelatively high pressure inrorder to force the same down'- wardlythrough the drill pipe to the lower end of the well and then upwardlythrough the well around the drill pipe and to the surface of the ground.At the present timeI it is not uncom mon for the slush pump todeliver1560 pounds per square inch. This rotary mud or slush usually consistsof a mixture of earth and water so as to form a muddy consistency whichcan be suitably pumped as a uid, and it is common practice to mix withthe rotary mud, heavier material, such as iron oxide, barium sulphate,and the like, in order to give the rotary mud suf-v j;

cient weight to support the walls ofy the, hole being drilled. Therotary mud therefore is ahighly abrasive material whichproduces a veryson vere attritional or wearing action on the various parts of the slushpump.

Due to the pressures which must be pumped and due to the abrasivequalities of the slush, the slush pump is subjected to considerablepunishment and it is thereforev necessary for the pumps, as they areconstructed today, to be quite massive in size and to incorporate heavycastings, which, 0f course, result in the slush pump being relativelyheavy and awkward to transport.

Our invention deals primarily with a slush pump of the power-driventype, wherein rotative power from an external source is applied to apinion shaft and by use of gears and a means of transforming vit toreciprocating motion is delivered toa fluid end havingreciprocating'pistons for the pumping of fluid.

It is an object of our invention to provide a slush pump in which thepower end of the pump, instead of being made from massive and sizeablecastings, is fabricated; that is, the various parts 'are made from hightensile strength structural steel shapes and plates which are formed'and welded together. We have found that by such a method ofconstruction which incorporates valuable features of designand'construction of our invention that not only is the slush pump moreeconomical to producebut the necessary strength l is obtained by lessweight and less'size of the n various parts. accordance with this objectof our invention is Theslush pump constructed in considerably lighterand more compact than prior art constructions employing casting.

It is a still further object ofour invention to provide adouble-actingduplex slush pump, that is, one having two cylinders bothof which are double acting; the pistons operating out of phase in orderto pump a substantially continuous stream under uniform pressure,l andin which the power frame is made relatively light as compared. to slushpumps now used in theprior art but in which the power frame isvespecially designed to withstand the forces and stresses transmittedthrough it during the operation of the pump.

It is a still, further object of our invention to provide a pump of thecharacter referred to having a power frame in which'the members aresecured ,togetheras by welding, and which includes'an X-frame' structureextending from the force end to the reaction end of the frame, and inwhich all membersv are designed to resist tension, compression anddiagonal stresses.

- It is another object of our invention to provide a pump of thecharacter yreferred to in which the points of application `of theforces` tothe power 'frame at the iiuid end or pump end are closer aslush pump in which the stuffing box for the.

cross-head rod is removable for replacement or repair. i

A further object of our inventionisto provide ai, pump in which aremovable cross-head rod stuffing box is mounted in a frame partitionwithout the necessity of drilling or tapping bolt orstudi holes in saidpartition.

A still further object of our invention is to providea slush pumpemploying a deflector baille' placed around the pump rod between thepiston rod sturiing box andcross-head rod stuffing box which closes thespace and4 includes a wiping means which wipes any rotary mud from therod.

Another object of our invention is to provide a construction of thecharacter pointed out in the precedingY paragraphs in which thedeflector baie is removable for the, convenience of assembling and alsoto permit the linstalling or removal of the piston rod stulng box fromplace. g

Another object of our invention is toI provide a construction whereby aremovable deiiector baille of type describedin preceding paragraphs isso mounted in the frame partition in a manner that precludes thenecessity of drilling or tappingf holes for studs or bolts. in thepartition.

Referring to the drawings in which we have illustrated our inventionembodied in a slush pump adapted for use in the oil' drilling industry,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of' such a slush pump.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View showing` the power frameconstruction prior to the time the various parts are machined andwithout the various moving partsl being assembled in position. This.view is intended to illustrate the manner in which the variousfabricated4 parts are positioned with respect to each other and weldedtogether.

Fig. l is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicatedby the lineofFig..3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical. sectional view through the slush pump of ourinvention. taken through the plane of one ofthe pump cylinders, one ofthe cross-heads and one of the eccentrics showing the various parts ofone half oi'. the pump.

Fig. 7 is. an` enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the detailsof construction and the manner in which the various stuffing boxes arearranged to prevent leakage of fluid from the pump end' into thelubricated enclosed .portion of the power end'. A

Fig. 8 is aV verticalV cross-sectional view taken on the line 8 8 oi'Fig. 6, this view showingv the relationship between the various parts ofthe frame at this particular place.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 8-9 of' Fig. 6and showing the deiiector means of our invention.

Fig. 10 is a. fragmentary sectional View taken as indicated by the lineIU-IU of Fig. 6 and showing the cross-head rod stuffing box of ourinvention.

Fig 1l is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line of Fig. 6showing the manner in which the various stuiling box parts may beremoved without disconnecting the pump end and the power end of theapparatus from each other.

Fig. 12a is a diagram illustrating the forces or stresses in the frameof the power end of our invention, the forces existing during oneposition of theeccentrics.

Fig.. 12bis a view similar to Fig. 12a showing the eccentrics. inanother position.

Fig. 12e is. al similar view showing the eccentrics in a succeedingposition.

Fig., 12d` is av further similar view showing the eccentri'cs furtherrotated.

Referring to the drawings in detail our invention provides a basestructure 30 on which is supported the power end of the slush pump 3|andthe pump orl iiuid end of the slush pumpV 32. Thebase consists oftwolongitudinal skid beams 33 secured together by suitable tubularspreader members 34 thus providing a relatively rigid base constructionon which the other parts cf the apparatus are supported and to whichthey are secured, such as bythe various bolting means illustratedinvarious views of the drawings.

The drive end, or power end', of our invention includes aframe`construction supported by the basey which frame constructionincorporates certain unique features and will now be described.

As shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5-, 6, and- 8', the frame constructiony whichmay be referred to as the power frame includes a pair of longitudinalbeams' 36 each of which may consist of a pair of channelsV weldedtogether as shown. At the forward end of the two beams 35 which arespaced apart as shown, and which extend parallel' to each other, thereis a vertical Wall or end member 31 which is-secured to the forward endof the longitudinal beams 36 preferably by welding as illustrated inFig. 5. Extending transversely betweenthe forward end of the two beams'36 and secured thereto and also secured to the end wall 31 isanintermediate cross-angle 38', which forms a part of the fram-e. Therearward ends of the beams 36 are connected together by an end beam 39which is in the form of an upstanding channel as shown in Figs; 3 and 5.Extending forward .from theV intermediate wall 31 in a horizontal planeis an X-frame 4D' which consists of two longitudinal members 4| whichcross each other and are welded together at 42 in a plane correspondingto the vertical longitudinal axis of the slushV pump. At the forward endof the X-frame 40 is a front member or abutment plate 44 which extendsin a vertical plane as shown. The rearward ends of the members 4| arewelded to the vertical wall 31 as indicated at 45 While the forward endsof the members 41 are welded to the abutment plate 44 as indicated at46. The rearward ends ofthe members 4| are in alignment withv thelongitudinalI axes of the beams 36` while the forward ends of themembers 4| are in alignmeritV with the axes A--A of the cylinders of thefluid end of the pump, as will be described. Positionedl concentric tothe axes A--A are barrels or tubular members 48 which are positionedside by side in a horizontal plane as illustrated, The forward ends of"the barrels 48 are welded to the rearv surface of the front member, orabutment .plate M. The rearward ends of the barrels 48 projectrearwardly through openings 48 formed in thevertical wall 3l, and arewelded to the ver'- tical wall as shown. It will be seen that thebarrels d8 are positioned directly above the X- frame 4t. For thepurpose of stiffening the barreis |38 there is secured as by welding tothe upper portion of each barrel a stiffening member Eli, the forwardend of which is welded to the front member 44 and the rearward end cfwhich is welded to the intermediate or vertical wall 3l. To fill in theopen spaces around the barrels la there is, as provided in Fig. 8, a topplate 5'! which fills the V-space at the top intermediate part betweenthe barrels ll, and there are also provided ller or deck plates $2 whichare shaped as shown in Fig. 8 including vertical walls 53 andhorizontalwalls 5ft. These deck plates 52 are secured in place bywelding, and each include a forward reinforcing angle 53 adapted to reston the longitudinal skid beaml 3 l.

Also forming a part of the power frame are 'bearings supporting castingslill, which are shown best in Figs. 3 and 4. These frames 5E arecastings, as distinguished from the other parts of the'frame which areeither made from sheet metal rolled to suitable shape or steelstructural members. These castings Si are two in number and one isplaced so as to rest on each of the beams 35, and to be positioneddirectly in back of the vertical wall 3'?. Each casting Ell istriangular in its general shape including a central vertical web or wall5| which terminates in a lower flange (i2 adapted to rest onthe uppersurface of one of the longitudinal beamsY it, and adapted to be weldedthereto. lThe forward part cf each casting 6d is in the form of a iiange53 which is adapted to engage the rear surface of the vertical wall 3land to be welded thereto. It will be noted that the upper part of thevertical wall 3l is rounded rearwardly, as indicated at 6d, so as toconform to the shape of the castings 5l?. The upper forward portion ofeach casting 5@ and immediately adjacent to the rearwardly roundedportion SQ of the vertical wall 3l is pro vided in the form of acylindrical journal 65 `which is formed integral with the wall Eil. the

front wall 63 and also various cross walls or webs v G6 illustrated invarious views. At the rearward lower part of each of the castings @il ina plane lower than the journals t5 and in substantially,

the plane of the axes A-A are journals 6i? which are formed by channelsin the casting 5i! and cooperating cap members 59`which are removablysecured in place by suitable stud bolts lll. The bearing supportingcastings or frames @t are welded to the longitudinal beams 35 andvertical wall 3 1 along opposite sides of each of the castings such asindicated at 1|, this welding operation being preferably simultaneouslyperformed in order to preventa warping and distortion.

The various frame parts which have been described constitute thesubstantialpart of the power frame of our invention.4 All of the partsreferred to, with the exception of the twov castings 6D, are made fromsheet steel or steel structural member. formed to suitable shape,rfabricated, and welded together to provide a rigid frame construction.The importance of design of this frame oonstruction will be pointed outin detail after everypart of the apparatus and operzfitionV have beendee scribed, and when various forces and stresses set up in the framedur'infr operation are dis- Various parts as explainedere' The rearwardpartof thetpower frame provides a crank caseor` gear case 'I5 which willy 3 now be described. As shownl best in Figs. 3, 4, and 6, the forwardpart of the crank case 'l5 is defined by the vertical wall 31,v whilethe sides thereof are formed by the castings 60, beams 36 and sideplates l@ which are secured thereto as shown in Fig; 3. The side membersextend downwardly from the upper forward parts ofthe castings and therear parts meet the beams 36 at the cross-beam 39, the upper edge Iofeach side member 16 sloping downwardly and rearwardly as indicated at 1TinFig. 3. Placed between the cross-angle 38, and end beam 39, and

between the skid beam 3| is an oil pan 'I8 which is welded in place asshown. The 'bottom of the `oil pan 18 slopes downwardly vtoward the rearand is provided with an oil drain 19 and an oil level check 8l) s'o thatthe oil level in theV oilpan 18 may be maintained substantially at anoil level indicated at 8| "in Fig'.f6. For closing the upper vpart ofthe crank case 'l5 there is a removable "cover 83 which has a curvedwall 84 extending 'may be vappliedV to either end thereof. The jackshaft 9E] is rotatably supported by bearings 9| mounted within bearing'retainers 92 which are in turn removably secured in the journals 65.Mounted on thecentral part of the jackjshaft 90 .is a pinion 93 which isofr smaller diameter than the openings through the journals so that thejack shaft assembly may beginserted 'into place through either oflthejournals E5.

The bearing retainers enclose the lbearing 92 and are insertable intothe journals B5 from the outer sides thereof, being secured in place bysuitable bolts 94. c y l Our invention provides aimain shaft 98fwhich isrotatably supported by bearing units y99 as shown. Mounted on the mainshaft 98 is a gear and eccentric arrangement. Mounted on each of theeccentrics I I3 is'an eccentric strap |33 which, as shown in Fig. 6, hasa forwardly extending eccentric strap rod |34 connected to a cross-headof the apparatus.

Referring to Figs. 6 and', we will now describe the cross-headconstruction of our invention. Se-

curedin each of the barrels 48 is an annular support |30 which consistsof an annular plate welded in place and having a'cylindrical openingvi3! formed therethrough. f That portion of each barrel $3 which lies tothe right or toward the and lower cross-head guides |83 and |84 whichhave inwardly extending flanges which are secured in place by bolts |86extending through split rings ll and |38, which bolts |36 and vrings l'land Hi8 are also employed to hold a cross- Y head stuffing box |89 inplace, as will be described later. The rightward end of thecross-headguides |83 and |84 aresecured to the rightward end of each tubularmember or barrel 48 byrsuitable bolts |99. Adapted to be reciprocatedinthe guides |33 and |86 is a cross-head which is opergland tightened.Likewise, the condition ofthe rubber bushing 2'15 may be inspected.

It is one of the features of our invention that the various parts in thebarrels may be reached for inspection and that the stuiiing boxes |89,23B, and the deector wall 268 may be removed from the slush pump withoutdisconnecting the power end and fluid end of the apparatus. Asillustrated in Fig. 11, when the piston rod 23! is disconnected from thecross-head rod 230 andthe various parts of the stuffing box 236,including the body 245, the various parts of the stuiiing box |33,including the body 237, the baffle 234, and the deflector wall 268 aredisconnected from their supporting parts, they may be moved'out- Thebaiiie 234 may likewise be moved directly y outward through the handhole 290. The deiiector wall 268 when disconnected may be moved to theright and then moved outwardly through the hand hole 23E). When thedeflector wall 268 is removed the body 2&5 of the stufling box 236 maythen be moved rightwardly through the end section 213, through theopening 251 in the annular support 266, and into the intermediatesection 2W, fromvwnich it may be moved laterally through the hand hole23d.v t l The fluid end of the slush pump of our invention is, aspreviously pointed out, mounted on the base 33. The fluid end includesthe two cylinders 250 which, as previously explained, are rigidlysecured againstthe abutment wall M. Supported on each of the skid beams33 is an intake manifold 330 which has feet 30| which rest on the skidbeams 33 and are removably sei cured thereto by boltsas shown. Thedetails of construction do not constitute a part of the inventionclaimed herein.

VIn the operation of the slush pump of our invention the eccentricmembers Ill) are so positioned with relation to each other that theeccentrics H3 are 90 outrof phase; that is to say,

they are spaced around the axis of rotation of the main shaft 98 adistance of 90 from each other. Any angular phase desired and inaccordance with ordinary pump practice may, however, be employed. Inoperating the device ade- ,f quate lubricant is, of course, placed inthe crank case to assure proper lubrication of the parts. A drive meansis connected rto the jack shaft or pinion shaft 33 and throughtheinterconnecting mechanism the two eccentricsr U3 are rotated,T y inorder to move the cross-heads vback and forth,

which in turn move the pistons 372 in the liners 3l l. When the piston,such,for example, as illustrated in Fig. 6, is moved from the positionshown in full lines ina leftward directionfluid isdrawn 60 the suctionvalve and through the connecting portion of the suction manifold. At thesame time any iiuid which is in the leftward end of the cylinder isforced outwardlyV through thefgi5v through the outlet valve, the `uppervalve chest 3,60, and the manifold pipe 365,'which directly opposes themanifold pipe which is connectedv to ythe valve chest associated withthe left end of into the rightward end of the cylinder throughW pumpedfrom the right end cfthat other cylinderf'to ous views by the notationsA 'and 5B1 therefore, that atthis time there are oppOSing flows of fluidinto the exhaust manifold pot 331i, and zthat yinstead of the Vstream offluid engaging a wall the two streams of fluid are brought togetherandguided upwardly, and in this way wear is reduced. When the direction ofmovement of the pistons change the iiuid which was, during thepreviously mentioned stroke of the pistons, drawn into the cylinder isthen forced therefrom and fluid is drawn into the opposite end of thecylinder ready to be forced therefrom upon a change of direction of thepump piston. This operation is, of course, in'accordance with standardpractice and is referred to hereonly'so that the construction of thedischarge manifold may be explained and the value of its design referredto in connection with the hows of fluid outwardly from the opposite endsof the pump cylinders. l I Y n vin Fig. 12a we have diagrammaticallyillustrated the essential parts of the power frame vin order'that theVarious forces transmitted therethrough during the operation of our pumpmay be illustrated. y Referring to the four views, Figs. 12a, 12b, 12C,and 12d, which are referred toas positions A to D inclusive, the forceapplied'in either direction through the upper cylinder pistonarrangement is referred to as the force A, while the force appliedthrough the lower piston arrangement is referred to as thefforce B. Thecircle C represents the position of the lower eccentric and the circle Drepresents the Yposition of the upper eccentric. The dot E' representsthe center around which the eccentrics are rotated in a directionindicatedby the arrow F. When the eccentrics C andi) are inthevpositions shown the force B is in the direction indicated by the arrow.B While the forceA is Zero as indicated by the zero A'. The reactions`at the opposite end of the frame are indicated by lY and Z' and with theforce B lbeing inthe direction indicated at B and the lforce A beingzero', the reactions are 4as indicated by Y vand Z. The forcestransmitted through the various partsV of the frame are as .indicated-bythe arrows applied to the'parts 48 through the barrels 48 vto kreactionpoints on the same side of the frame and by the members il to reactionpoints on the opposite side of the frame., n i

Positions B, C, and D are drawn on the'same basis as the'diagramposition A except that the eccentrics C and D are in the differentpositions .as illustrated and the forces A and B and the reactions Y andZ are as illustrated on the vari- Likewise,r the forces transmitted'through the various parts 48 and 4I are as illustrated by the f arrowsvapplied to these parts in the different views.

It will be seen that the forces range between zero and maximum in onedirection, zero, and

maximum in the opposite direction, and from forces in the same'directionto forces inthe opposite direction. Figs. 12a to 12d inclusive, it isbelieved, clearly illustratethe manner in which the frame of ourAinvention is Vadapted to transmit the vvarious forces and to minimize`the the first mentioned cylinder. It hwillbe" seenmggpossibility ofeccentric'loadng and the 'reduction metal tubes in side by siderelation; an end member` comprising a transverse metal Wall welded tothe rear ends of said tubes, and having openings therein coinciding withsaid tubes; a front member comprising a transverse metal wall welded tothe front ends of said tubes and having openings therein coinciding withsaid tubes; means for connecting said operating means and said pumpingunits respectively to said end member and said front member; andremovable cylindric meanswithin said tubes to guide said rst mentionedconnecting means.

8. In a duplex pump having a pair of pumping units in side by siderelation, said pumping units each including a uid displacing pumpingelement, operating means for said pumping units and connecting meansextending from said 0perating means to the pumping elements of saidpumping units, the combination of: a pair o1' metal tubes in side byside relation; an end member comprising a transverse metal wall Weldedto the rear ends of said tubes, and having openings therein coincidingwith said tubes; a front member comprising a transverse metal WallyWelded to the front ends of said tubes and having openings thereincoinciding with said tubes; metal cross-members extending from said endmember to said front member in a plane parallel to the plane defined bythe longitudinal axes of said tubes, and having the ends thereof Weldedto said end member and said front member; means for connecting saidoperating means and said pumping units respectively to said end memberand said front mmeber; and means within said tubes to guide said rstmentioned connecting means.

LESLIE W. STAHL.

RALPH L. FOSTER.

